“Thanks,” I reply, not in the mood for his small talk. “Who hired you?”
“You’re asking the wrong person, Pretty Boy.” I hear the feminine voice from behind me. “Ask me, cuz.”
Cruz asks, “What the fuck is going on?”
“Man, we’re just pulling all the skeletons out of the closet,” I snarl, scanning over the sleek black leather one-piece and pink hair. “Cassidy Dawn Hope, how long has it been? Who hired you?”
“My dear cousin Sal Raniero. Too long. And you should ask your Daddy.” She snaps her fingers high in the air and saunters over. She stops inches from running into me. Her eyes skim over me. “Tell your lovely wife; I said hello.” I grab her arm, and Mitch raises his gun at me. “Down, Saber.”
“… Who?” I soothe. Remember those girls whose numbers I forgot because they were that bad?
Cas is at the top of that list.
Leaning in close, she breathes against my lip. “Gennaro.” She grabs my dick, but I don’t react. I am too well trained, and I won’t fall for her unprofessional strategy. “One tip was for free. If you want to go balls deep, I left my card in the kitchen.”
She rhythmically walks to the door, shaking all that ass in those tight pants. “Are you The Beekeeper?”
“Shhhh!” She winks. “That’s two!”
“Are you still with Cinco?”
She ruthlessly cackles, “Oh no, I bought Etienne, darling.”
I stand in absolute silence as they leave and take Nico Cristos with them. “Your pets are locked down for the night,” Mass says. “Where do you want me?”
“Iris.”
“Fuck!” Cruz mutters in as much shock as I am. “We have a very serious problem.”
“Ya, Reckless Rebellion just inherited La Chiesa by default cause we gotta get some security up in this bitch.”
“Nicky isn’t Nero. Dom is lying. This is severe,” he quickly assesses. “And I do not know how to get you out of this one.”
“I don’t think you can,” I admit, knowing my mafia mentor just orphaned me. And this is war. “It’s just you and me, bro.”
Cruz smacks my hand and pulls me in for a bromance embrace. “To the end, Nero.”
FORBIDDEN SINS
a Tomb of Ashen Tears Book 6
MARCH 9, 2021
GoodReads
Love the Sal?
22
A&E
Bad Girl
Juliet
Kinky Sex Magic
Madness
Poppy
She/He
a Tomb of Ashen Tears
Salt Kissed Love
Famous Last Words
Every Minute I Love You
Diary of a Submissive
A Dark Place
Pre-Order Forbidden Sins (3.9.21)
SONS
Son of Saint
Son of Angel
Son of Cirque
Sal Raniero Thrillers
Unspoken (Prequel to Hey Pretty)
Sal Raniero’s Little Black Book
Prequel (The Contract)
Sal Raniero’s Little Black Book 1
The Story of Salvatore
The Initiation
Tea for Two
Grunt
Hopechest
RIDE
Fluff
Bounce
Raw
Nocturne
A Shimmering Dream
The Red Shoes
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Playlists for all of the books are available on Spotify.
PRINTABLE READING LIST - Sal’s Reading List
Ms. Samuels Notes #29
A Dark Place was delivered by a stork.
Randomly, unexpectedly, out of nowhere, during the composing of Diary of a Submissive, said stork brought twins: A Dark Place and Forbidden Sins.
I wanted to explore lies, what motivates their formation, and how they spread. It was by sheer accident, but worth mentioning how the events in 2020 played into the creation of this book.
I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the self-disciplined (forced) action of my four month sabbatical, which coincidentally occurred during quarantine/isolation/the wreck of 2020. I am neither depressed nor sick or abandoning my creative outlet. Or you!
Here are the simple facts:
I ran my machine hard for six years, 18-20 hours a day.
I needed to reboot.
It wasn’t burn out; it was more internally reflective than sheer exhaustion. I needed time to assess the whole picture of where I had been, what I had done, and the connections I made. And likewise where Sal had been, what he had done, and the connections he made.
And then I borrowed Cruz’s crowbar.
And smashed it all to bits.
I craved rebirth, rebuilding, rejuvenation.
And I found it in A Dark Place.
All of my books have a focal point and ADP’s centerstage was pinpointed on lies.
Heinous crimes formulated to violate Sal’s mental stability. I wanted all the grim, gruesome details, and then I needed him to figure it all out.
I wanted the book to hit the darkness of Grunt, the despair of Famous Last Words, and the emotional depth of A&E.
I long adhered to the belief that A&E was my hardest write…until A Dark Place came to town. ADP was agonizing and laborious, growing like an embryo, and morphing into a twelve-headed beast with gangly tentacles and a wild ride.
I knew it would be long; that’s a given—it’s TAT. During my sabbatical, I accepted a few things. I was done apologizing, excusing the words I paint.
A cake cannot be a banana.
“We can’t compare cake to bananas?”
“Fuck no.”
Despite the constraints in marketing a 1200-page tomb in this day and age, I realized one thing—I believe in it, wholeheartedly.
Sign me up. Take the blood. I am in.
But of course, this is me, and questions arise. And I have invited you in to rummage through my hard drive for six years. I can’t stop that now. I seriously don’t know how. So I will answer a few of the questions that popped up on my proverbial screen.
When will TAT end?
The short answer is I don’t know.
The long answer is there are thirteen books with rough sketches, but it could end up being far longer than that depending on Sal.
Is Dear Reader ever going to experience Sal & Iris together?
Yes! SDI will be together in TAT6 because I cannot write my way out of their isolation. I actually spent months thinking about this. I even considered removing all of the dates from 29 books at one point, but that idea—frankly, it scares the fuck out of me. I like having the dates, so I can flip forward or back. Because I refuse to write in order.
Speaking of which, just because all of the revelations have come to light concerning Jaid does not mean Hey Pretty will not release, but I have no release date planned. 2020 was a disaster, yet a rebirth. Curse and blessing—Balance.
There was an episode in TAT4 called “The End of Our Prolegomenon” otherwise known as the end of our introduction. Keep in mind that was in book 4, so this could well exceed thirteen books. It all depends if the story continues to evolve and the diehard #RanieroFanGirls want more. These are my babies and as long as they have a home with one, I will tenaciously dig for the words.
What is with the new term ‘episodes’?
Things were starting to get confusing.
Originally, I had called each section a “book” within the book. Like “East of Eden” is Book 10 in TAT5, but with more actual TAT books in the series, it was causing conversational hiccups. The sections are now episodes, ie, TAT5, Ep.10.
Will they ever be shortened?
Absofuckinglutely not. TAT is big and mean and will remain such.
Will I ever do a box set?
Maybe. It’s a possibility. Smirks.
How many TAT will release per year?
&nb
sp; At least one. The goal is two.
How long does it take to write one of these?
Start to finish roughly 75 days, not counting edits. TAT books range from 165-275k. My record is close to 18k in a day. If I am practiced—flowing with the writerly juju—I easily play 5k a day. It’s a curse and a blessing.
Coming off a break with no writing for four months, it took me a bit of practice to get back there. But TAT books aren’t actually about the length—that’s a fallacy.
TAT books are about cohesive character studies and to attain that with these particular characters SDI (Sal/Deacon/Iris), the length just happens naturally.
2021?
Two TAT books—Forbidden Sins (TAT6) and (TAT7) which I do know the title of, but I am not revealing. Expect the pre-order for TAT7 at the end of TAT6. I enjoy the March and October releases for TAT books, and I will do my best to continue that moving forward.
As far as other books, I am letting the wind take me. When I’ve got a book, I’ll post a pre-order. I am no longer running to catch up, but ahead—part of the changes in sabbatical.
There are outlines and plans for other books, but I will not be mentioning them at this time.
I have indefinitely closed my ARC group.
I have a few diehard readers gathered elsewhere. My team and I are being pretty strict about who we are allowing in.
If you’re a Sal aficionado and would like to be considered, please drop me an email at: [email protected] or feel free to contact Angela Thomas on Facebook. We are looking for those possessing a fluidity and understanding in my art as well as a good fit for the team.
No drama. No excuses.
Just books, friends, and bare feet.
- kailee @ the farmhouse,
October 5, 2020
Self-isolating since February 24, 2020.
Take care of yourselves and your family.
Peace. Love. & Sal.
A special thank you to my beta team who journey with me on every TAT book.
Your willingness to commit months at a time is a gift I can never repay.
Thank you Angela, when all I said was I can’t,
you told me I could, should, and would.
I could not do this without you.
Thank you KC, you fed me music and hefty doses of humor when I needed it most.
I could not do this without you.
Thank you Meems, you researched for weeks to answer questions and debate possibilities.
Our early developmental chats shaped this book.
I could not do this without you.
To my shadow, you pushed me not to stop and kept my ass on the track for so many months.
I could not do this without you.
To all of my family, friends, and team who make every book more special than the last, I thank you from the bottom of my heart.
I could not do this without you.
French phrase translations have been provided by Mimiorphee Reads.
Italian phrase translations have been provided
by Laura Rossi.
THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME.
the journey continues March 2021 with
Forbidden Sins
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A Dark Place (a Tomb of Ashen Tears Book 5) Page 94